Harderwijk

Harderwijk is a town in Gelderland, Netherlands. Most people visit for the Dolfinarium, or use this town as a gateway for Walibi World.

Understand
Harderwijk, like many of the Dutch cities, was founded during medieval times. The city is known to have been fortified with a wall by the end of the 13th century. The century after, the city started expanding southward. During this time the Grote Kerk (Great Church) was constructed as well. A second medieval expansion took place around 1425, this time expanding to the north.

The city had its own university since 1648. The most important person to attend this university has been Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus. The university, along with the universities of Zutphen and Franeker were abolished by Napoleon in 1811.

Harderwijk, like nearby Elburg, was a member of the Hanseatic League. The Southern Sea, not yet disconnected from the sea by the Afsluitdijk and not yet reclaimed by man to create Flevoland and the Noordoostpolder, meant that Harderwijk was a coastal town with easy connections to the outside. The once flourishing fishers harbour is no longer home to tens of fishing boats, but instead offers docking space for yachts.

Nowadays, Harderwijk is most known for the Dolfinarium, the largest marine mammal park of the Netherlands. The park has, as the name implies, dolphin shows and many other fishes and marine mammals.

By train
Harderwijk has a single train station, which is serviced by the Nederlanse Spoorwegen. The station,, is located at a 15 minute walk from the medieval city. Follow the Stationslaan to get to the city directly.

By car
Harderwijk is located along the A28 (E232). To get to the city, get to either Utrecht or Zwolle and head for the one of the two that you're not in. Confusingly, the two exits that serve Harderwijk aren't named after the city. Instead they are named after nearby Ermelo and Lelystad (exits 12 and 13 respectively). As soon as you leave the highway, you will see Harderwijk. To get to the city centre, follow the Oranjelaan followed by Westeinde when coming from exit 12, and follow the Hoofdweg and Selhorstweg when coming from exit 13.

Eat
About every restaurant in Harderwijk can be found in the city centre.

Go next
Just a hop over the Veluwemeer brings you to Flevoland, the biggest polder ever created. Alternatively, you could move up a bit along the Veluwemeer, which would get you to Elburg, the only Dutch city that was fully rebuilt in medieval times to fit a grid pattern. Go to the south-east and you'll find yourself in the middle of the heavily forested Veluwe, one of the first nature reserves of the Netherlands. Other nearby cities include Hanzestad Zwolle, Apeldoorn, the city that isn't a city since it never got city rights, and Amersfoort, which like Harderwijk, is a medieval city with a historical city centre that has stood the test of time fairly well, surrounded by urbanised regions.